Introduction
The selection process is a critical stage in the hiring process. It is critical because getting the candidate with the right skills is crucial for any company. It is hard to identify the candidate with the company fit that will be suitable to work for the company. This is hard to achieve because of the effort that many candidates will show in order to be considered as fit candidates for the positions which are advertised. This paper will focus on the selection strategy that Zappos use in order to get the right candidates to fill the positions that have been advertised. The aim of the company is to stand out in terms of service delivery. There is a thorough process that is used by the company to ensure that the candidates fit the culture and the routine in the company.
Question 1
The selection process starts with having an auto-responder message to all online applicants to read the company values. The online method of making applications is the only channel of applying for positions that is available for the candidates. The candidates will be expected to go through the values of the company. This way, they will be able to understand the values of the company. The candidates are asked basic questions. In this process, the company human resource person will try to gauge the ability and the knowledge of the applicants to check if they fit the role that they are required to perform while they are in the company. After this, selected candidates in the first interview through the phone will be selected to attend the second interview. On the way to the second interview, the candidates will be gauged about other values like humility. This is an important aspect that is being assessed while the candidates are being interviewed. This is where they are required to attend TV-talk-show-like interview where the candidates will be asked about the values of Zappos. In this interview, the interviewer will try to understand the honesty of the candidates. The candidates are expected to discuss in an open manner thus giving the interviewer the kind of people they are and the values that these candidates will keep (Mathis, & Jackson, 2011).
After the interview in the round table, the candidates might be taken outdoors where they are expected to interact with people so that their people-skills will be assessed. In most cases, the candidates will be assessed about their way of interacting and how they relate with other people.
This does not seem to be a complete selection process. This is because there is no place that on-job skills have been assessed in the selection process. This is because the selection process should include the expertise and what the candidates have learnt. Although this seems to be a complete process, it will not work when there is a technical position that is advertised. The current strategy will work well with non-technical positions like marketers and clerks. For the technical positions, there is a need to have a procedure that will assess the technical knowledge that the candidates have. It is important to have a procedure that this is achieved for positions that require technical knowledge. The company could have a good person who understands the value and culture of the organization but does not have the skills that are necessary for the technical positions. For this reason, there is a need to add the technical skills assessment in the hiring process which will be the main point of focus (Gatewood, Feild, & Barrick, 2010).
Question 2
In terms of reliability, the criterion that is used by Zappos is not reliable in all positions. It cannot be relied upon when selecting technical staff. This assessment is useful for positions that handle interactions with people. Technical positions will require more than people skills. An example is that most computer programmers do not have the skills that are considered to be social. It is the knowledge that they have that should be of concern to the staff. In terms of validity, the procedures that the human resource representatives use are fairly valid. This is because it is hard to get people who are able to interact even when they are just pretending. The questions that are being asked are genuine and will get the fact that is being searched by the human resource experts. The generalizability of the criteria that are used by Zappos is not generalizable. This is because of the different skills that are required in different areas. The criterion that is used for the selection of staff will not work for the technical areas which need the skills that are used in those areas. This means that there will be a need to develop a new set of selection procedures that will be used in other areas. The criterion is practical as there are many ways in which the questions can be asked. The criterion is legal. It can be said that Zappos fairly meets the criteria that have been stipulated. This is because of the fact that it meets most of the criteria of in their criteria. The success of the methods that Zappos currently use will be measured through getting the right staff and an increase in the number of staff who interacts with the clients well. This will be translated on an increase on customer base.
Question 3
I would advise the decision makers at Zappos not to use a highly structured selection process. This is because the skills they are looking for in candidates will not be found with the use of high structured selection process. They want staff that will be able to fit with the culture of the organization and those will understand what the company wants to be achieved. This will be hard to achieve with the use of high structured selection process. Highly structured selection process should only be used when the company is looking for special skills that are used in technical areas of the company. Positions for the web programmer, system administrators should follow a highly structured selection process. This is because the staff should have the right skills for the position.
Another reason why highly structured selection process will not work is that social skills are found by asking unstructured questions to the interviewees. The questions should be asked in a casual manner and doing things which are casual and not official.
Conclusion
The selection process used in the Zappos case is meant to get the skills that will fit with the culture of the company. Structured selection processes do not fit with the Zappos case because there is the issue of the social standing of the applicants.
References
Gatewood, R., Feild, H., & Barrick, M. (2010). Human resource selection. Cengage Learning.
Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. (2011). Human resource management: Essential perspectives. Cengage Learning.
